Pathfinder Society Factions

Choosing your faction is as important as choosing your character's class or race‚ it defines your character in the campaign, and ties her to the destiny of one particular cause. Before you choose your character's faction, consider each carefully and pick the faction that best matches the character you are trying to create. Some classes may be harder to play in some factions than others.

Below are brief descriptions for each of the factions of the Pathfinder Society. By visiting each of their pages you will find information about the history of the faction, their goals, a description of the faction leader, and more.

Maintain order in the Vaults beneath the Grand Lodge of Absalom. Seek out other dangerous relics, and retrieve them for proper storage and research in the Dark Archive. Study and understand hazardous phenomena, and harness these occurrences' power for the faction's benefit. Build alliances with like-minded organizations

Although it is small compared to many other trade outfits in the Inner Sea region, the faction aims to build an extensive trade network that allow it to deliver nearly any good to any location—for a price. Undermine or acquire rival monopolies while allying with powerful producers, merchants, and contacts to further grow the business.

Members of this faction are the most dedicated members of the Pathfinder Society, embodying the key tenets of the organization above all else. Focused on exploring ruins as well as securing artifacts from those who don't appreciate them, these Pathfinders have an insatiable sense of curiosity. Grand Lodge Pathfinders make excellent teammates for larger expeditions, and have filled the tomes of the Pathfinder Chronicles since the earliest volumes. They often take inspiration from the exploits of the early Pathfinder Durvin Gest, aspiring to become as famous as that legendary adventurer.

Liberty's Edge faction members seek to spark revolution in decadent old empires and to civilize and educate the ignorant peoples of lost and unknown lands. They press for the abolition of slavery and the punishment of those who perpetrate it. They bring the torch of freedom to the world's darkest places and banish mysticism, diabolism, and fear. A member of this faction often performs acts of sabotage and diplomacy while carrying out her duties and should be willing to bend the rules of tyrannical law in order to plant the seed of liberty, even when doing so requires employing questionable techniques.

Seek and preserve the wonders of old civilizations such as ancient Osirion—especially the sage jewels that contain that desert kingdom's precious secrets. Cultivate excellence in the faction, its allies, and the enlightened, as it is from these ranks that new sages will arise.

Led by the retired Pathfinder Ollysta Zadrian, paladin of Sarenrae, this faction seeks to be more than just adventurers doing the bidding of the Decemvirate and the venture-captains. While other factions, such as The Exchange, may use the Society for personal gain, the Silver Crusade attempts to transform the Society into an organization that aids the weak, destroys evil, and makes the world a better place.

Unite the nobility of the Inner Sea to serve as the powers behind their respective thrones and direct the nations toward prosperity, peace, and perhaps the creation of a new empire spanning Avistan and beyond. Avoid advertising the existence of the faction except to likely recruits, for many nations would see this organization as a threat.

Retired Factions

As of Season 6: The Year of the Sky Key, which began August 15, 2014, the factions below are no longer playable factions in Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

Andoran

Members of the Andoran faction seek to topple tyrannies from within, aiding dissidents and freedom fighters with equipment, funds, or intelligence. They are fierce foes of slavery and can take extreme measures against those who buy and sell people.

Cheliax

The promise of power and riches lures many to the Cheliax faction, which seeks to spread the faith and order of Asmodeus across the Inner Sea and beyond.

Osirion

Many have written off the desert nation of Osirion as a land lost to history, no longer a force to be reckoned with. The Ruby Prince Khemet III, personal sponsor of this faction, seeks to reacquire secrets and artifacts of Osirion's lost glory in an effort to reclaim his nation's destiny.

Qadira

The Qadira faction seeks to control the commerce of the entire Inner Sea, breaking its enemies' monopolies and enforcing its own. In the pursuit of this goal, faction members display a ruthlessness that can put the Chelaxians to shame.

Sczarni

Not all Pathfinders serve the Society with pure hearts; members of this faction are not above using their missions for a bit of personal gain.

Taldor

The mighty Taldan empire once spanned a significant portion of the Inner Sea, but its glory days are long over. The Taldor faction seeks to reclaim this preeminence—not through conquest as their ancestors did, but by turning their enemies against one another, through political victories, and, of course, by gaining control over Absalom.

As of Season 5: The Year of the Demon, which began August 15, 2013, the factions below are no longer playable factions in Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

Lantern Lodge

Representing the interests of the distant Dragon Empires, this faction sponsors expeditions around the world in search of arcane and cultural riches.

Shadow Lodge

A rogue movement within the Society, the Shadow Lodge only recently emerged from shadow and skullduggery to openly encourage the Decemvirate not to take their field agents for granted.